National's solution to maiming public education? Bigger class sizes and false competition performance pay? Our kids deserve better!
I'm sorry, larger class sizes and the attempt to use the flawed national standards which were always going to be used to create a false competition model are the answers to how to maim one of the best public education systems in the world?
Where the hell does National get off wrecking our kids education like this?
Why has a political party like ACT with a mere 1.07% of the vote been allowed to have one of their most extreme right wing policies like Charter Schools adopted as a main policy for the entire country especially when the evidence is now overwhelming that this ideological experiment is detrimental in every way.
The real insult to injury here is that the entire Charter School fiasco is top secret, we will never know how much we are giving private companies public education money and there is no way to measure any actual success.
Why we are allowing this right wing perversion to erode one of the best public education systems in the world is almost as difficult to answer as why a right wing homophobic bigot like John Banks is any where near the education portfolio.
Here is what our Associate Minister of Education had to say during the election...
"If we continue the bankrupt response of just paying young Polynesian, young Maori men in south Auckland the dole to sit in front of TV, smoke marijuana, watch pornography and plan more drug offending and more burglaries, then we’re going to have them coming through our windows".
...since when was education supposed to be a hate crime?
We have one of the best public education systems in the world, yes we have students on the bottom who are not getting the education they need, but that's because of under funding, growing class sizes and manipulating the flawed national standards system into a performance pay measure has nothing to do with making education better.
This is far right ideology replacing public policy.
For shame Hekia Parata, for shame.
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posted by Bomber @ 8:49 am
6 comments
6 Comments:
All that will happen is that the teachers will learn how to game the system, teach to the testable aspects of the National Standards and grade up students whenever it's remotely possible.
Any attempt at teacher's objectively moderating each others students will be a joke as it becomes an advantage to devalue another teacher's students (it's a zero sum game).
Teachers won't want bad, ESL or disruptive students as they are harder to teach. Meanwhile parents will be clammering to get their kids into the school/class of the "good" teacher.
The best teachers will end up in the higher socio-economic schools - not because they are the best teachers but because the parents of kids failing in those school can get afford out-of-school help for their school-work.
I hope Labour realise the shear number of policies and changes that have occurred since 2008 provide them with ample policy to win the next election - even if by reversing things already done where possible.
Sadly, a few think they should "shift right" - merely an enabling mechanism to entrench what's occurred. A huge misjudgment of the electorate (90% or at least 50%). I wont be voting for them (Labour) UNLESS tey start commiting to reversing much of this shit that's occurred and about to occur (such as setting up NZ for an Australian 'boat people' detention centre); reversing the tax cuts for the wealthy (AND more!!!! e.g. austerity for those that can both afford it and who have caused much of the downturn); labour laws (to put it in its simplest form: IF A BUSINESS CAN ONLY SURVIVE BY EMPPLOYING SLAVE LABOUR or in conditions that challenge basic human rights -THEN THAT BUSINESS IS SIMPLY NOT VIABLE - just so long as NZ wants to continue to delude itself its a first world country).
....the list goes on but unfortunately that 'nice PC UN man that can play a tune on geetar and has knobbed it in the 3rd world occasionally - thinks a move right is the answer apparently. He'd better change or he'll be despised within a short time.
Consider this Mr SHearer: As a 50-something, I could actually up-sticks and fuck off to Northern India and live a better life than I am now!
IF Labour try another 1987, then perhaps they should get hionest, change their name, and allow others to take up delivering what they once stood for - i.e. SOCIAL JUSTICE before an economy that relies on (corporarte and government) FACISM.
Otherwise fuck off to another political party
A slight correction to an excellent post: the attributing of charter schools to ACT is a political sleight of hand. Work was well under way on this a couple of years ago, driven by government policy. The appointment of the current Secretary for Education, with her strongs links to the establishment of 'free schools' (England's version of charter schools) was made last October, well before the election.
Goodness, my old classes were all 40+ students, however we also had one very important ingredient that is lacking today, that being a firm and instilled discipline, and REAL consequences to boot.
Craig... Can you see then, from your comment, why large classes are not good? I was caned at school, but we don't do that any more and thats a change for the better. So other things have to change as well. It doesnt matter how great the teacher is, he or she will always be better if they have fewer students. I am a teacher, and I know that is is really difficult to give adequate attention and meaningful feedback and advice to each student if you have more than about 25 in the room, yet that is what is expected.
These changes are not driven by any data or research, just pure ideological BS.
Ahoy Skipper Bradbury! Whew! Just got out of teaching in time and my kids have not long left too. Govt. policy, without support from the educational sector to implement it, will not work. Feel sorry for those now in the system though.
Abandon ship everyone.
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